Historical instructor

JOEL BALLIVIAN

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 5.00/5 from 10 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

What students say

Original student reviews · all captured dates

PHIL243 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 1/5
Good professor that is very receptive to the feelings of the class. Should there be an issue with any thing from how debate is structured to a due date it could be voted on (within reason) to be changed. He knows what he is talking about and how to foster debate and steer things into the right direction. Respectful and fun teacher.
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PHIL241 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 1/5
One of the best, if not the best professors at UW-Madison. He has so much passion for a topic that I didn't think was going to be to engaging going into it, but he makes the class something to look forward to. Very easy workload and if you need to take a philosophy course, he is your guy. Can't recommend him enough
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PHILOS 241
Quality 5/5Difficulty 2/5
Honestly the best professor I've ever had. Super caring about his students. Shows genuine interest and love for the topics. Discussion based class. Makes a very fun and open environment. We have 4 in class written exams, super easy format, pick 1 open ended question to answer. 4 debates in discussion. Show honest effort and you'll do well.
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PHIL243 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 2/5
Take a class with this man. He is very insightful and cares a lot about his students and the topics discussed in the course. One of the best and realist UW professors I have had. Attendance is mandatory with some flexibility, but the lectures are enjoyable. No exams, no papers, three group-based debates, small readings, reflections, & participation
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PHILOS 241
Quality 5/5Difficulty 2/5
So appreciative of an enthusiastic, passionate professor. Especially at 8 am lectures, energy never lacking. Bright future ahead, but he is killing it now as a PHD. It is obvious he puts in work, cares about each and every student. I think every student left this class better for having taken it. Easy to tell he is passionate about what he does.
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with JOEL BALLIVIAN

No teaching recorded in Fall 2026.

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Recorded teaching history

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Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.

Instructor identity & provenance
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